Healthcare Technology Featured Article

InternetArray, Health Sciences Group to Collaborate on Apps for Medical Marijuana Patients

On Jan. 31, InternetArray formed a joint venture/collaboration agreement with Health Sciences International to build mobile apps to help patients make informed decisions relating to medical marijuana treatment.

The announcement could conceivably lead to some controversy, as marijuana use, while now legal in a number of states, remains illegal under U.S. federal law.

Health Services International (HSI), based in Newport Beach, CA, will begin software development operations at its facility in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Mar. 4. The company’s main focus is on developing healthcare-related apps for smartphones.

The apps developed under the joint venture will help patients determine whether or not they should pursue medical marijuana treatment, and if so, the locations of providers.

New York-based InternetArray will provide more of a back office support role in finance, marketing, accounting and administrative areas. The company licenses and markets technology and helps startup technology companies.

HSI management believes app developers from China and Vietnam are best positioned to build quality apps that are in high demand. Mobile apps and social media have gone from novelties, to nice-to-haves to must-haves for any organization serious about modern technology.

Eighteen states in the U.S. have passed laws legalizing medical marijuana and 10 more states are in the process of legalization. The big stumbling block that many cannabis users face is at the federal level, where possession is still illegal.

Nonetheless, momentum for legalization continues to grow in many states and many choose to use the drug at their own risk. It's not certain when or if cannabis will ever become legal under federal law, but support for medical use is at least more in the mainstream. It should be no surprise that the cliché, 'there's an app for that', would ever include support for medical marijuana, but did anyone really think it would happen?